- Johan Cruyff’s old shirt number, 14, was retired by the club in honour of their legend.

- Like Spurs, Ajax are seen to have “Jewish roots” after their stadium was located next to the Jewish neighbourhood in the 1930s. Whilst their fans aren’t predominantly Jewish, they have embraced the connection and chant “Jews! Jews!” (Joden) at games.

- United played against Ajax in the 1st Round of the UEFA Cup in 1976. United lost 1-0 away but in front of 60,000 people at Old Trafford, won 2-0, thanks to goals from Macari and McIlroy. United played a team with an average age of 23-years-old that night, against the Dutch side who went on to be crowned Champions that season.

- “Ajax are a good team and I’ve never faced them in competitive European football,” said Ferguson. “I’m looking forward to it.”

- The first leg will take at the Amsterdam ArenA on Thursday 16 February, KO 6pm (GMT), with the second leg at Old Trafford on Thursday 23 February, KO 8.05pm (GMT).

After the final whistle, the talk of Manchester becoming the new Milan was quickly replaced with jokes about Channel 5 (we will actually be playing on ITV4, meh) and comparison with the teams from London who had progressed though. Whilst there were some blues and reds who could console themselves with the failure of their rivals, it mattered little to me. At some point, I’m sure I’ll find it funny that Sheikh Mansour can’t even buy City success, but all their failure means to me is we’re saved from the unbearable piss taking that would have ensued. Their misery doesn’t soften the blow for our own pain and I am genuinely gutted we failed to get out of the group.

Patrice Evra spoke well on the topic, as he usually does, expressing the feelings of plenty of fans.  “We deserve to be out,” he said. “But it is embarrassing to be in the Europa League.” Embarrassing is right. It’s impossible to avoid sounding like a snob or massively spoilt, but that competition is there for those who aren’t good enough for the Champions League and it’s embarrassing we’re lumped in with those second rate sides. APOEL are good enough for the elite competition, so are Napoli and FC Basel, but we’re with Stoke and the like in the bloody Europa League. It’s sickening.

Roy Keane was critical of the younger players on Wednesday and whilst I agreed with a lot of what he said, my initial reaction was to feel defensive of our youngsters. But our former captain doesn’t have any time for sentimentality and when you break it down, De Gea fucked up for the first goal and one of Evans or Smalling should have dealt with the second. I’m not putting blame on their doorstep and we learn more from our failures than our success, but there’s no tinted specs where Keano is concerned and on the night, some of the younger lads didn’t do their job and it cost us.

Keane said the players were letting the manager down and that’s true. The young ones have time to learn but it is the more experienced players, who should have taken the game by the balls and shown urgency from the first whistle, who need to “take a look in the mirror”, as Evra said. Yes, we dominated the game and yes we created enough chances to win it, but there’s no excuse for us not getting a draw. There’s no excuse for Rooney not burying that cross from Nani in the first half. Excruciating.

Essentially though, it’s the games at home we will be left to regret. The FC Basel game at home was the biggest joke of the lot and that is the game that knocked us out. Danny Welbeck put us 2-0 up with less than 20 minutes played but we found ourselves 3-2 down in injury time before Ashley Young drew us level. Joke.

So now we have the Europa League and the only thing that will take the edge off the pain for me is if we field the team we would have used for the League Cup. I’ve heard reds saying that we should go for it, that it would be great for Fergie to win it, but I can’t get my head around that way of thinking at all. Here comes the football snob in me again but who gives a shit about the Europa League? If it was the final tomorrow night, yes, obviously I’d want us to play our strongest team and win it, but the damage that competition could do to us is not worth the benefit. We’re without Nemanja Vidic for the rest of the season now because of one Champions League game, as if we can afford to risk any more of our players in trying to win the Europa League. If we got to the semis, maybe then take it more seriously, as silverware is silverware, but we should rely on our youngsters and fringe players to get us there, and if they can’t, no big deal.

The overriding feeling for me though, and one that is sadly so repetitive and dull, is we would not be in this position if we had brought in the quality central midfielder we’ve been crying out for. The cost of missing out on Champions League football from this point on is reportedly worth £20m. To make you sick, David Silva cost £24m and Juan Mata cost £26m, two players who have been brilliant in the Premier League, yet we wouldn’t splash the cash on a top midfielder. Could we afford to buy one? The answer is we couldn’t afford not to buy one, and our Champions League exit has gone a long way to proving that.

It isn’t so much the transfer fee that apparently held us back but the obsession with keeping the wage bill down. That’s why the likes of John O’Shea and Wes Brown were sold last summer and why Rio Ferdinand will probably be allowed to leave this summer. The best players want the best wages and whilst I love seeing us bring players like De Gea, Jones, Smalling, Cleverley, Welbeck and the Da Silvas in to the first team, that doesn’t mean I don’t want someone top class in the centre of the park, someone who has dozens of Champions League games under their belt, who has played in finals and World Cups. If we can break the bank for Rooney, who’s hardly set the world alight since forcing the club to pay him a small fortune on a weekly basis, then why aren’t we doing the same for a top player in arguably the most important position?

It’s not all doom and gloom though. We’ve got a good squad and we’ve got the best manager. I still think we’ll win the league, even if Vidic’s injury makes that a lot more difficult, and not having the annual Champions League quarter/semi finals to deal with in the last couple of months of the season will help with that. But that’s beside the point. It shouldn’t be either, or, where United are concerned. Cristiano Ronaldo guided us to that brilliant league and European Cup double in 2008 and the £80m we got for him has not been reinvested in to another superstar, regardless of how highly I rate some of the individuals that have been bought since his exit.

If anything positive can come from this it is the wake up call the Glazers and Ferguson need. We must bring in someone special and we must do it as soon as possible, if this season in Europe is to be an anomaly and not a more common occurrence.

We’ll never die.

At full time, Keane claimed that our young players hadn’t done well enough. He also made reference to Phil Jones’ comments ahead of kick-off and questioned how relaxed he felt now.

Sir Alex Ferguson was told about Keane’s comment and had a dig of his own, reminding Roy that he is just a TV pundit, not a manager, following his sacking from Ipswich last January.

“I don’t know why you are bringing this up from a television critic,” said Ferguson. “Roy had an opportunity to prove himself as a manager and it’s a hard job. We have enough good young players to see us through. I have every confidence in them. That is part of football. You have to deal with disappointment. It has been used as motivation at this club many times before. These young players will have to cope with it and get on with it in their careers.”

Whilst Evra has always been a great speaker, his form over the last eighteen months has been poor, and he is certainly one of the players who needs to take a look at his contribution, or lack of, to United’s recent performances.

“We have to be honest and say we haven’t been professional from the beginning of this competition,” he said. “I don’t know why, but maybe one or two of us have to look in the mirror and say we can do a lot better than we have done. There is always a lesson to be learned because, in the beginning everyone thought United would finish first in the group, with the teams we were drawn against. But in the end we came to qualify and we haven’t got the job done. I don’t have the words to describe how it feels all I can say is that it is a sad day. It feels like a dream and that I will wake up tomorrow and we will have qualified. But it is not a dream it is the reality and we should have woken up earlier in this competition. We deserve to be out. But it is embarrassing to be in the Europa League. Some players dream of playing for United in any competition and you have to respect that, but the way I feel now, it is Champions League or nothing. It is not just about tonight, though. It is about the whole competition. We threw away a chance to qualify. We have to get back to work and show that we are Man United and that we never die. If the players don’t believe the team are good enough to bounce back, then they can go and ask the gaffer not to play but I believe in the team.”

United will now be forced to endure the humiliation of the Europa League on Thursday nights.

If you go to the United website, the current prices shown for tickets only show Champions League prices. With United fans left frustrated at the club’s inability to spend the money on a desperately needed world class central midfielder, despite being the most profitable club in the world, you have to wonder how much the Glazers will think they can charge to see us compete in a competition we should not be playing in.

Here’s hoping Sir Alex opts to play the lads who would have had a go in the Carling Cup, following yet another embarrassing exit from that competition at the hands of Crystal Palace last week. But will Europa tickets be made compulsory for season ticket holders to purchase as Champions League tickets have been? You would imagine so. And you would also imagine the anti-Glazer protests will be back in full force at the weekend…

Bench: Subs: Lindegaard, Evans, Fletcher, Valencia, Gibson, Welbeck, Macheda.

Check out the RoM betting page for the best odds for tonight’s game.

“It (pressure) does bring the best out of me,” said Jones. “As a group of players we thrive on it. Pressure comes with every game. We are at a massive club so we are used to it. Tomorrow is no different. We have prepared right and hopefully we will get the three points.”

The manager has echoed these sentiments, claiming we have enough experience in the squad to deal with the game.

“The pressure won’t affect us,” said Ferguson. “Look at the number of big games these players play in. Every year for the last few years they have been involved in finals and semi-finals and quarter-finals and big games in the Premier League. Tomorrow is exactly the same situation. It is another big game, but we have a strong squad and that squad will see us through without question.”

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this,” said Fletcher. “This club needs to qualify for the Champions League, so we know we have to get a positive result. They are going to come at us because they have to win the game and we’re fully aware of that. We are under no illusions as to what we have to do. We need a positive result and we’ll be going to win the game because you never know what Benfica will do in the other game. We fully expect them to win, but you never know, so it’s important we win the match. If we do that we might get a little favour with Benfica not winning, in which case we win the group. But if not, we will finish second – the most important thing now is getting through. You want to be through by this stage and you want to be in pole position to win the group. Unfortunately, we are not in that position and so you look back to the two home draws with Basel and Benfica. If you don’t win your home games in the Champions League then it’s never going to be as easy as you’d like.”

As well as the matter of playing catch-up with Manchester City’s irrepressible Galacticos, the Red Devils are participating in the advanced stages of the Carling Cup and the small matter of completing qualification for the knock-out stages for the UEFA Champions League still needs to be done.

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Manchester United v Crystal Palace

The English champions entertain the Eagles at Old Trafford on Wednesday 30th November as a League Cup semi-final beckons for the victors. The home team will be strong favourites to progress in the competition but the visitors will ensure that it won’t be a dead rubber and in fact a keenly-contested affair.

With United expected to make several changes and demote several stars such as Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic from the match day squad, the Londoners will fancy their chances at Old Trafford. It has been several years since either side met after Palace’s relegation from the top flight several seasons ago and this will only increase their appetite all the more as they make a rare visit to the home of the top team in the country.

Despite the gulf in class with each club’s respective squad, it will certainly be a feisty clash between both sets of players as the stakes are high and the rewards even higher for the eventual winner.

Wednesday, 30th November 7:45pm on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD 2.

Basel v Manchester United

Seven days after that Carling Cup encounter, United face a crucial game against the Swiss champions as the winner on the night will be advancing towards the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League.

So far, the English club have struggled badly with performances and results in the group phase and this is reflected through their lackluster displays in two wins and three draws so far. Heiko Vogel’s team gave the Manchester side a massive scare at Old Trafford when the hosts had to made do with a 3-3 draw thanks to a late equaliser from Ashley Young.

With United on 9 points and Basel peering over their shoulders on 8 points, it is certain to be an intense game which the home supporters will be up for big time.

Wednesday, 7th December 7:45pm on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD 1.

QPR v Manchester United

QPR have had a mixed season with hammerings from Bolton and Fulham to beating Chelsea and narrowly losing to league leaders Manchester City 3-2. They have all the reasons to be all fired up for the reigning champions, Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping that his men will not lose more ground on their local rivals. Picking up all three points is the only way if they want to test Roberto Mancini’s men.

United’s eagerness to win can produce an open game if Neil Warnock decides to take it to the 19 time champions. They currently hold the 9th spot on the table, level on points with 8th spot Aston Villa. If United is to drop points at Loftus Road, the gap between them and City will widen.

Historically speaking, Man Utd has dominated QPR both home and away with a record of 23W-10D-6L. The two teams last faced each other in the Carling Cup in 2008, where Carlos Tevez scored the only goal of the game.

Sunday, 18th December 12:00pm on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD 1.

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